Clear as Mud

So after weeks of wild speculation surrounding visa rules, the Chinese foreign ministry finally broke its silence and acknowledged that the rules had been tightened.

“We have made some arrangements according to usual international practice. That is, in the approval process we are more strict and more serious with the procedure,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference on Tuesday.

As AP reports, he did not directly link the changes to the Olympics, adding that the policies would “be maintained for a period of time.”

So everything’s cleared up then? Well, no. The general consensus seems to be that between July 1 and sometime in September, foreigners who are not on a full-time work visa (Z visa) will only be issued with 30-day tourist (L) visas. The issuing of F visas seems to have been suspended – but again this has not been confirmed. Other reports suggest that student visas (X visas) will also be suspended from the beginning of July, and that for the duration of the Olympics, any foreigners looking to get hold of a tourist visa will be required to show proof that they have tickets for an event – though this latter rumour appears hard to believe.

Anecdotal evidence is also confusing. I know of foreigners who have used back-street visa dealers to get hold of Z and X visas, but for a hefty fee. Others have targeted less-popular embassies and consulates. While the visa offices in Hong Kong and London appear to be making it extremely difficult for foreigners to get visas of any kind – three friends who are coming out to visit me at the end of this month were required to show proof of hotel bookings and departure flights, procedures – others appear to be more accommodating. A friend of mine was able to get hold of a 60-day L visa from the Chinese consulate in Osaka, Japan, with no questions asked last week, while others have had success targeting embassies in Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Given the furore surrounding the torch protests and the strong conflicting opinions about the staging of the Games in Beijing, it is understandable that China is looking to control the flow of people into and out of the country more closely. But by failing to spell out the situation clearly, the authorities run the risk of hurting businesses and of hurting the economy – the Olympics should be a massive boost for the Chinese tourism industry, not just in Beijing but across the country, yet the tighter rules may well dissuade many potential visitors who do not have tickets. It is sad that the atmosphere of ‘us against them’ has become so pronounced that the authorities appear to have become inherently suspicious of all foreigners looking to visit or work in the country.

Rather than letting people experience the real China first-hand, by closing themselves off from the outside world, they risk merely reinforcing the admittedly often over-the-top picture being painted by the foreign media of a country and a government that is increasingly suspicious of and hostile to the outside world.

MP